Garden critters

TristanP · June 17, 2005

Shot this guy before dinner. He was waving his front legs slowly in front - almost like he was washing them but I couldn't tell.

I shot these tonight in front of the house. Slave-triggered Sunpak did the lighting. The little spider was hating me for misting his "perch". I just couldn't find the right angle to really catch the water on the web (and truthfully, not a lot wanted to stick). These blooms should be open by this weekend.

All done with F717 handheld.

nzmacro · June 17, 2005

The first shot and going by the head shape and what looks like wings, you have taken a shot of something we don't see very often. A flying ant Tristan. Some do have wings and its great to see a shot of one. What else hints that its a flying ant, is the waving of the antenna like that. Thats typical ant behaviour. Often you will see those vibrate at a heck of a rate.

That is one very small spider. Very small by the looks of it, so nice ratio.

All the best Tristan. BTW, what are you using on front of the 717 ???

Danny.

TristanP · June 17, 2005

nzmacro wrote:

BTW, what are you using on front of the 717 ???

Just a UV filter.

I'd like to get my hands on a 250D, but that's low on the list right now.

nzmacro · June 17, 2005

Yes the 250D is an excellent twin lens design. Now if you want a less costly alternative that is still a twin element design and optically as good as the 250D, check out a Nikon 6T or the 4T. Both exactly the same, just a different thread size. For the cost, they are brilliant and quite a bit less in cost than the 250D. On the 717 they would be excellent to use.

Anyway, fine shots and just keep them coming.

Danny.

Higgmeister · June 17, 2005

Hi Tristan,
The ant? shot looks like he's bowing

. Cool shot. The flowers really take center stage on the other shots. I like your dramatic lighting and the colors are beautiful, especially with the water drops. The spider is so tiny, I think it acts as an accent for the flowers.

Nice shots,
Chris

MuskyDude · June 17, 2005

Great shots.

The ant looks like it's shaking its fists at the young ants, who were playing to close to him.

And the flower shots really stand out because of the dark background, and the nice drops.

Nice series Tristan.

AJ

Jekyll & Hyde · June 18, 2005

J: Really nice job even without a macro lens! It's fun to capture bugs doing interesting sruff.

H: I like the lone bud. Great exposure and focus.

J: If you want to highlight the spiderweb further, select it it Photoshop and increase the sharpening, it'll brighten up whatever you have of it.

H: Like Danny says, get that 250D sometime. Your image size won't increase any, but you'll get more elbow room to light your subjects.

J: Speaking of lighting, have you tried the Pillsbury Flash Diffuser for the built-in flash? (Get the "Grands" size)
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=5406554

H: It softens the light, and also eliminates the "lens shadow" if you're not using a close up lens. Just don't let it hang over the end of the lens, or else you'll splash light onto the front objective.

J: I'd also recommend removing the U/V filter when shooting macros. You'll want as clear a picture as possible. Especially when adding other lenses to the mix.

H: Have fun in the backyard.
J&H

Garden critters

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